FERTILIZERS 


FOR  FRUIT 
GROWERS 


BY  Dr.  E.  B.  VGQRHEES 

t|  V  I  Vf  j  C  f  V  f,  I  r  II  III  , 

DIRECTOR  N.  J.  AGRICULTURAL  EXPERIMENT  STATION 


ISSUED  BY  THE 

NEW  JERSEY  STATE  HORTICULTURAL  SOCJETY 


Fertilizers  lor  Fruit  Growers 

....  By ... . 

Dr.  E.  B.  Voorhccs 

Director  N.  J.  Agricultural  Experiment  Station 


This  is  a  day  of  new  things.  We  are  not  satisfied  that  we 
are  making  proper  progress,  unless  we  have  some  new  fad  or 
fancy  to  occupy  our  attention  ;  some  specific  which  will  cure 
all  ills.  I  am  afraid,  therefore,  that  I  shall  disappoint  those 
who  are  expecting  some  new  revelations  in  reference  to  fertil¬ 
izers  for  fruits.  My  experience  and  observations  teach  me 
that  while  we  are  following  the  new  we  sometimes  neglect  the 
old  and  tried  to  our  disadvantage.  I,  therefore,  wish  in  the 
beginning  to  disabuse  your  minds  of  the  hope  of  hearing  of 
some  startling  discovery,  for  I  am  going  to  confine  myself  very 
largely  to  emphasizing  the  facts  and  principles  that  have  been 
tried  and  established. 

In  the  first  place,  I  feel  that  fruit  growers,  like  dairymen, 
should  be  classified  into  groups,  in  order  that  we  may  not  be 
misled  in  believing  that  all  persons  who  grow  fruit  are  fruit 
growers  in  the  best  sense,  and  thus  capable  of  using  the  in¬ 
formation  given  in  a  way  that  would  be  helpful. 

In  the  first  group  I  would  include  those  who  make  fruit 
growing  their  primary  business,  who  before  beginning  their 
work  study  the  question  of  soils,  of  drainage,  of  varieties, 
of  methods  of  planting  and  handling  orchards,  and  of  markets, 
in  order  that  they  may  know,  or  may  have  full  knowledge  of 
the  best  things,  and  when  they  have  started  their  orchards  they 
take  pains  to  get  as  much  up-to-date  information  as  possible 
concerning  insects  and  diseases,  and  their  methods  of  treat¬ 
ment.  They  know  that  knowledge  of  principles  and  of  best 
methods  of  practice  pays,  and  they  feel  that  without  using 
their  best  intelligence  in  the  various  processes  that  fruit  grow¬ 
ing,  like  any  other  line  of  business,  cannot  be  made  the  suc¬ 
cess  that  present  conditions  warrant.  Their  time  and  energies 
are  devoted  exclusively  to  fruit  growing  in  its  various  phases. 
It  occupies  the  first  place  in  their  thought  and  work.  All 


other  lines  of  work  are  subsidiary,  and  are  made  to  contribute 
to  their  success  and  profit  as  fruit  growers.  The  members  of 
this  group  are  not  a  great  number,  though  I  think  we  have  as 
large  a  proportion  of  them  in  this  State  as  in  any  other.  They 
are  a  progressive  and,  as  a  rule,  a  successful  body  of  men. 
Their  work  is,  or  should  be,  an  incentive  and  an  inspiration, 
particularly  to  young  men  who  are  about  to  engage  in  their 
life-work. 

In  the  second  group  are  included  those  who,  while  in 
many  cases  successful,  do  not  give  their  whole  time  to  the 
growing  of  fruit.  They  are  not  so  sure  of  their  ground  as 
those  in  the  first  group.  They  have  not  the  courage  of  their 
convictions,  and  are  thus  unwilling  to  devote  their  whole  time 
to  this  one  branch  of  farming.  Hence  they  have  several  lines 
going  at  the  same  time ;  their  interests  are  divided,  and  be¬ 
cause  they  do  not  know  which  line  is  going  to  be  the  best  in 
any  one  year,  all  are  neglected  to  some  extent.  For  example, 
they  may  find  that  at  the  time  their  orchards  ought  to  be  cul¬ 
tivated,  other  crops  ought  to  be  put  in — if  both  are  not  done  at 
the  right  time,  one  or  the  other  suffers.  In  such  a  case,  no  one 
line  can  receive  the  best  attention  at  the  time  it  should  be 
given.  Besides,  with  several  lines  the  time  for  study  that  is 
necessary  to  enable  the  grower  to  perfect  himself  in  the  best 
methods  of  practice,  is  not  sufficient  to  cover  all.  Therefore, 
no  one  subject  is  thoroughly  mastered.  I  do  not  wish  to  be 
understood,  however,  as  saying  that  it  is  not  possible,  and  per¬ 
haps  in  a  large  number  of  instances  quite  as  profitable  for  a 
man  to  divide  his  energies,  inasmuch  as  in  many  instances  his 
location  or  character  of  soil  does  not  make  it  possible  for  him 
to  utilize  all  of  his  land  for  fruit  growing. 

The  main  point  which  I  desire  to  impress  is,  that  because 
of  the  attention  that  must  nowadays  be  given  to  make  a  suc¬ 
cess  in  fruit  growing,  the  grower  cannot  afford  to  attempt  too 
many  things.  It  is,  after  all,  knowledge  of  what  and  how  to 
do  that  measures  his  success. 

There  is  a  third  group,  who  grow  fruit,  and  are  often¬ 
times  classified  as  fruit  growers,  because  their  product  gets  in¬ 
to  the  market,  who  have  no  intelligent  understanding  of  the 
business,  but  whose  products  have  a  wide  influence  in  deter¬ 
mining  the  returns  that  shall  be  received  for  the  product  of 
others.  I  refer  to  the  large  number  who  have  a  few  trees  of 
apples  or  pears,  or  who  set  an  orchard  of  peaches,  because 
some  one  season  prices  have  been  high,  with  the  hope  that 


somehow  or  other  he  will  get  a  paying  crop.  There  is  no  set 
purpose  to  make  themselves  familiar  with  the  business.  These 
growers  do  not  know  very  much  about  varieties,  they  know 
less  about  handling  their  trees,  and  still  less  about  insects  and 
diseases,  and  their  product  is  very  often,  though  not  always, 
poor,  and  it  goes  into  the  market  ungraded,  and  in  seasons  of 
plenty  helps  to  depress  the  value  of  the  product  of  the  good 
growers.  There  is  no  good  reason  why  the  fruit  grown  in  this 
way  should  not  be  taken  care  of  quite  as  well  as  that  grown  by 
those  possessing  larger  areas,  and  thus  contribute  to  the  up¬ 
lift  of  the  industry  rather  than  to  help  to  depress  it  It  is  for 
these  reasons  a  difficult  matter  to  give  suggestions  that  will  be 
useful  or  can  be  made  practicable  for  all.  The  best  that  one  can 
do  is  to  define  as  clearly  as  may  be  the  underlying  principles 
which  are  involved  in  the  growing  of  different  classes  of  fruits. 

I  must  admit  that  we  have  a  great  mass  of  undigested 
knowledge  in  reference  to  the  whole  matter,  and  that  one  great 
difficulty  is  that  so  many  of  us  have  such  an  incomplete  knowl¬ 
edge  of  any  specific  portion  of  it.  The  controversies  that  are 
so  frequent  in  our  agricultural  and  horticultural  papers  in  ref¬ 
erence  to  soils,  manures,  cultivation,  varieties,  etc.,  are  as  a 
rule  due  to  the  fact  that  we  see  but  one  side  of  the  question,  or 
in  many  instances  but  one  part  of  a  side  of  the  whole  question. 
Statements  are  true  on  both  sides,  but  because  we  do  not  know 
or  cannot  get  the  point  of  view  of  the  other  fellow,  unfruitful 
discussions  are  indulged  in  and  result  in  nothing. 

Take  the  question  of  soils,  and  we  find  that  these  vary  so 
widely  in  their  characteristics  as  to  make  it  possible  to  grow 
the  very  best  kinds  of  fruit  on  one  and  the  very  poorest  on  an¬ 
other,  with  exactly  the  same  treatment  as  far  as  cultivation, 
fertilization,  manuring,  trimming,  and  other  factors  are  con¬ 
cerned.  The  same  is  true  largely  in  the  matter  of  manuring 
or  fertilizing.  Conditions  are  so  variable  that  what  one  grower 
would  regard  as  a  manure  might  be  of  no  service  whatever  to 
another.  It  is,  therefore,  a  question  of  incomplete  understand¬ 
ing  of  all  of  the  principles  that  are  involved. 

Take  the  question  of  manures,  and  how  often  do  we  hear 
that  this  one  followed  a  certain  line  of  practice  and  it  resulted 
in  the  production  of  the  very  best  yield  and  quality  of  fruit. 
Another,  using  identically  the  same,  reports  that  the  results 
obtained  are  of  no  value.  The  reason  for  this  is  because  con¬ 
ditions  differ  and  their  understanding  of  how  to  apply  the  prin¬ 
ciple,  very  defective. 


It  is  my  judgment  that,  aside  from  special  instances  and 
special  crops,  the  whole  manure  question  rests  chiefly  upon 
minerals  and  water.  You  say,  what  has  water  to  do  with 
manuring  orchards?  Why  should  it  be  regarded  at  all  in  con¬ 
nection  with  the  subject  of  manures?  I  answer,  in  a  broad 
sense,  that  anything  that  will  contribute  to  the  production  of  a 
crop,  or  makes  it  better  than  it  otherwise  would  be,  is  a  ma¬ 
nure.  The  original  meaning  of  the  term  “manure”  has  refer¬ 
ence  to  the  working' of  the  soil,  and  from  that  we  get  the  adage, 
“tillage  is  manure.”  Now,  tillage  in  its  best  sense  means  mak¬ 
ing  available  dormant  plant-food  and  the  conserving  of 
moisture,  not  the  killing  of  weeds ;  the  best  tillage,  therefore, 
will  result  in  the  best  natural  manuring. 

It  is  manifest,  however,  that  this  cannot  apply  equally 
everywhere,  on  all  kinds  of  soil,  or  in  all  locations,  but  it  has 
its  bearing,  and  a  very  important  one,  upon  the  question  of 
the  best  production.  One  of  the  earliest  investigators  of  the 
subject  of  manures  believed  that  tillage  was  manure,  because 
tillage  resulted  in  making  the  particles  of  soil  so  fine  that  the 
roots  of  plants  could  absorb  them  directly.  His  conclusion 
was  wrong,  in  the  sense  that  he  believed  that  the  plants  ab¬ 
sorbed  the  particles,  but  it  was  right  in  the  sense  that  he  be¬ 
lieved  that  extra  tillage  resulted  in  an  increase  in  crop.  Til¬ 
lage  was  manure,  not  because  it  resulted  in  enabling  the 
plants  to  absorb  directly  the  finer  particles  of  soil,  but  because 
it  made  them  so  fine  as  to  enable  the  plants  to  readily  dissolve 
them,  and  the  better  tillage  enabled  the  soil  to  hold  a  larger 
proportion  of  water.  When,  therefore,  I  say  that  I  believe 
minerals  and  water  are  the  substances  of  greatest  importance 
to  fruit  growers,  I  have  reference  to  those  soils  which  possess 
in  their  original  character  an  abundance  of  the  minerals  which 
are  essential  for  the  growth  of  all  crops,  namely,  phosphorus, 
potassium  and  lime,  but  do  not  wish  to  have  it  understood  that 
in  any  case  is  it  unnecessary  that  nitrogen  should  be  a  com¬ 
ponent  part  of  manures. 

In  the  next  place,  an  indefinite  knowledge  of  the  func¬ 
tions  of  manures  results  oftentimes  in  reducing  ultimately  the 
productivity  of  soils.  That  is,  reducing  their  fertility  beyond 
the  degree  to  which  they  would  naturally  be  depleted.  In 
these  days  of  the  concentration  of  energies,  we  must  under¬ 
stand  all  of  the  phases  of  the  question,  if  we  are  to  make  gen¬ 
uine  progress. 

Nine  farmers  out  of  ten,  even  to-day,  will  tell  you  that 


they  would  prefer  yard  manure  to  any  other  kind,  and  yet 
probably  not  eight  out  of  the  nine  could  tell  you  the  reason 
why  it  is  so  useful  a  product.  They  do  not  know  that  in  ad¬ 
dition  to  its  contributing  directly  to  the  content  of  essential 
plant  food  elements  in  the  soil  that  indirectly  it  improves  its 
physical  character,  makes  it  more  absorbent  of  moisture,  and 
contributes  to  the  development  of  organisms  which  are  so 
active  in  converting  both  nitrogen  and  minerals  into  active 
forms.  It  is  a  general  form,  and,  therefore,  its  use  without 
specific  knowledge  as  to  its  functions  results  favorably  in  the 
case  of  most  farm  crops,  and  may  result  in  injury  rather  than 
in  benefit  when  applied  to  specific  crops  upon  specific  kinds 
of  soil.  That  is,  while  yard  manure  is  one  of  the  most  gen¬ 
erally  useful  of  manures,  because  it  is  a  manure  in  its  broadest 
sense,  and  its  continuous  use  in  proper  quantities  will  result 
in  keeping  up  the  soil  to  its  full  natural  capacity,  greater  care 
is  required  in  its  use  in  orchards  than  any  other  one  kind  of 
manure.  It  must  be  used  in  conjunction  with  other  amend¬ 
ments,  and  with  direct  plant-food  in  other  forms,  if  we  are  to 
give  to  the  fruits  the  kind  and  quality  of  food  they  need,  and 
have  them  available  at  the  time  that  the  plant  requires  them 
and  in  the  greatest  amounts. 

This  may  be  true  also  in  many  instances  of  fertilizers  or 
manures  for  other  crops,  yet  it  should  be  emphasized  more 
fully  in  the  matter  of  fruits,  because  they  differ  not  only  in 
their  habits  of  growth,  but  in  the  character  and  composition 
of  the  crops  themselves.  For  example,  general  farm  crops, 
with  few  exceptions,  require  but  one  year  for  the  entire  pro¬ 
cesses  of  vegetation  and  of  ripening  Fruit  crops,  on  the  other 
hand,  as  a  rule  require  a  preparatory  period  of  growth  before 
the  crop  is  produced,  and  this  period  is  longer  or  shorter,  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  kind  of  fruit. 

In  the  next  place,  the  character  of  fruit  differs  from  that 
of  general  farm  rops,  because  after  the  period  of  fruit  bearing 
begins  the  vegetative  forces  do  not  cease,  but  go  on  while  the 
growth  and  ripening  of  the  fruit  is  in  progress.  The  crop 
itself  also  differs  materially  in  its  character  from  vegetables  or 
other  farm  crops,  which  reach  their  maturity  in  one  reason, 
because  for  many  kinds  nearly  a  whole  season  is  required  for 
the  growth  and  development  of  the  fruit  itself.  Fruit  grow¬ 
ing  also  differs  from  other  lines  of  farming  in  the  sense  that 
it  is  really  a  continuous  cropping  of  the  same  kind,  and  no 
opportunity  is  afforded  to  correct  the  tendency  to  exhaust  the 


soil  by  frequent  change  of  crops,  which  may  require  different 
kinds  and  amounts  of  plant-food  constituents.  These  are  the 
essential  points  of  difference  between  farm  crops  and  fruit 
crops,  and  because  of  these  marked  differences,  character  of 
soil  becomes  an  important  consideration.  Sometimes  I  think 
that  fruit  growers  are  guided  in  their  methods  of  management 
of  their  orchards  by  nature’s  management  of  forests  ;  they  see 
the  forests  start  and  grow  without  any  particular  attention, 
and  argue,  if  not  in  so  many  words,  by  their  actions,  that  the 
same  treatment  ought  to  work  in  fruit  growing.  Their  trees 
are  planted,  and  then  they  are  left  to  nature’s  care,  unculti¬ 
vated,  unmanured  and  untrimmed,  and  they  become  yellow 
and  knotty  and  thoroughly  unthrifty.  They  do  not  seem  to 
realize  that  an  orchard  for  fruit  growing  is  an  artificial,  and 
not  a  natural,  crop,  and  cannot  survive  under  natural  condi¬ 
tions  any  more  than  can  wheat  or  corn.  It  is  not  according 
to  the  general  laws  of  nature  that  fruit  should  grow  and  pro¬ 
duce  abundantly  without  special  care  and  management.  They 
observe,  too,  in  many  instances,  that  fruit  trees  grow,  develop 
and  produce  good  fruits  without  a  great  deal  of  fertilizing  or 
manuring  upon  some  soils,  and  argue  that  what  is  true  of  one 
orchard  should  be  true  of  another,  and  hence  there  is  a  very 
wide  difference  in  the  results  obtained  from  orchards  planted 
on  different  kinds  of  soil.  Naturally  good  soils,  that  is,  soils 
well  supplied  with  the  minerals  of  the  right  sort,  as  those  de¬ 
rived  from  limestone,  granite  or  trap,  or  mixtures  of  one  or 
more,  will  produce  large,  vigorous  trees,  and  produce  good 
fruit  without  a  great  deal  of  care,  provided  they  are  so  located 
as  to  have  good  natural  drainage,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
have  moisture  within  reasonable  distance  of  the  surface.  The 
almost  perfect  natural  conditions,  however,  do  not  prevail 
largely  throughout  this  or  any  other  State,  though  full  advan¬ 
tage  is  not  taken  of  all  such  locations.  For  certain  kinds  of 
fruit,  however,  soils  which  originally  are  very  poor  may  be 
made  excellent  for  the  growth  of  fruits. 

In  other  words,  the  original  soil  .s  a  very  important  con¬ 
tributing  factor,  and  it  does  not  follow  that  crops  grown  well 
on  one  will  grow  well  on  another.  This,  of  course,  is  not  im¬ 
portant,  except  as  leading  up  to  the  question  of  cultivation, 
manuring  and  fertilization,  because  all  of  these  are  more  im¬ 
portant  in  one  case  than  in  the  other.  Given  a  good  soil,  or 
one  which  possesses  the  valuable  characteristics  mentioned, 
and  you  will  readily  see  that  while  fruit  trees  cannot  grow 


and  bear  abundantly  without  nitrogen,  the  chief  consideration 
is  minerals  and  water  ;  minerals  to  supply  those  necessary  to 
form  the  basis  of  acids  which  exist  in  the  fruits  themselves, 
as  well  as  to  support  and  strengthen  the  fibre  of  the  roots, 
stems  and  branches,  while  nitrogen,  because  not  required  in  so 
large  amounts,  and  because  in  many  cases  it  can  be  obtained 
indirectly  ;  and  because,  in  the  third  place,  if  existing  in  too 
large  amounts  and  in  too  readily  available  forms,  may  contri¬ 
bute  to  the  undue  development  of  leaf  and  branch,  is  not  so  im¬ 
portant  from  the  standpoint  of  actual  supplies  of  plant-food.  I 
do  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  saying,  however,  that  nitrogen 
is  not  an  important  factor  in  manv  instances,  but  when  the  rela¬ 
tion  of  tree  to  soil  is  considered,  it  is  rather  then  the  mineral 
than  the  organic  supplies  of  food  that  must  be  most  carefully 
considered.  Neither  does  it  follow  that  the  fertilization  or 
manuring,  or  treatment  of  any  sort,  which  is  the  best  for  apples 
or  pears  must  necessarily  be  the  best  for  peaches,  or  plums,  or 
cherries,  or  for  strawberries,  or  gooseberries,  or  blackberries. 
All  of  these  various  kinds  of  fruit  possess  different  character¬ 
istics,  which  renders  it  necessary  that  they  should  have  a  dif¬ 
ferent  habitat,  and  that  the  resu  ts  of  artificial  treatments 
should  be  variable.  It  is  manifestly  impossible,  too,  to  include 
all  berry  and  fruit  crops  in  one  .general  group,  though  pos¬ 
sessing  many  points  of  resemblance.  The  different  ones  vary¬ 
ing  more  or  less  in  their  character;  trees  of  certain  fruits  are 
long-lived  ;  others  are  short-lived.  In  some  of  them  the  crop¬ 
ping  period  is  short — the  fruit  ripens  early  and  at  once,  while 
in  others  the  ripening  period  extends  through  a  considerable 
period.  While  similar  recommendations  may  be  made  in 
many  cases,  it  is  desirable  that  each  class  should  be  consid¬ 
ered  separately,  and  that  distinctions  should  be  made  between 
what  may  be  regarded  as  good  soils,  medium  soils  and  poor 
soils,  in  respect  to  their  content  of  plant-food.  Those  forms 
of  plant-food  which  decay  and  give  up  their  constituents 
slowly  are  perhaps  quite  as  good,  if  not  better,  for  many  kinds 
of  fruit  than  those  which  by  their  solubility  and  availability 
are  more  stimulating  in  their  character.  Those  fertilizers 
which  do  not  contribute  to  the  immediate  feeding  of  the  tree 
or  plant,  but  which  add  to  the  reserves  of  potential  plant  food 
should,  however,  in  many  cases  be  supplemented  by  those 
which  act  more  quickly,  in  order  to  supply  an  abundance  of 
available  food  at  special  times  and  seasons.  I  believe,  there¬ 
fore,  that  a  bas;c  formula,  the  chief  claim  of  which  is  that  it 


furnishes  large  amounts  rather  than  special  proportions  or 
forms  of  plant-food,  may  be  more  reasonably  adopted  for  fruits 
and  berries  than  for  other  crops.  It  may  be  applied  with  ad¬ 
vantage  to  all  of  the  fruits,  and  the  specific  kinds  which  have 
a  special  influence  upon  quality,  or  size,  or  earliness,  may  be 
adjusted  in  their  application  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the 
different  kinds  of  fruit  on  the  different  kinds  of  soil. 

A  careful  study  of  such  experiments  as  have  been  con¬ 
ducted  with  fruits  here  and  elsewhere  leads  me  to  believe  that 
aformula  made  up  of  one-third,  by  weight,  of  ground  bone,  acid 
phosphate  and  muriate  of  potash  would  serve  an  excellent  pur¬ 
pose  as  a  basic  formula  for  the  preparatory  treatment  of  all 
kinds  of  soils  for  all  kinds  of  fruit.  There  are  several  reasons 
for  this.  The  first  is  because  such  a  mixture  could  do  no 
harm  in  any  case;  second,  it  adds  direct  plant-food  to  the  soil, 
and  of  the  kind  liable  to  be  needed  in  all  cases;  third,  the 
constituent  elements  are  not  so  quickly  available  as  to  cause 
an  undue  stimulation  of  tree,  on  any  kind  of  soil ;  besides,  in¬ 
asmuch  as  it  is  a  formula  which  supplies  chiefly  of  the  minerals, 
there  is  practically  no  danger  of  any  loss  of  plant-food  from 
the  soil ;  fourth,  since  it  is  quantity  rather  than  quality  which 
we  are  considering,  the  amounts  applied  can  be  readily  adjusted 
to  meet  what  is  believed  to  be  the  deficiencies  of  the  various 
classes  of  soils.  This  formula  meets  in  a  superlative  degree 
the  requirements  of  such  long-lived  fruits  as  apples  and  pears, 
and  may  contribute  to  the  vigor  and  longer  life  of  peaches, 
plums,  berries  and  other  small  fruits. 

The  next  question  is,  when  and  how  much  of  a  basic  for¬ 
mula  of  this  sort  should  be  applied  per  acre.  A  mixture  of 
this  kind,  derived  from  materials  of  average  composition, 
would  contain  approximately  : 

Nitrogen .  r  per  cent. 

Phosphoric  acid  ...  12  “ 

Potash . 16  “ 

An  annual  application  of  1000  pounds  per  acre  in  the 
early  life  of  the  orchard,  and  500  pounds  per  acre  later,  would 
not  be  excessive,  as  we  must  provide  for  a  large  annual  growth 
of  wood,  leaves  and  fruit,  for  a  long  period,  and  when  it  is  re¬ 
membered  that  in  an  established  orchard  it  is  not  easy,  after 
it  has  arrived  at  the  age  of  fruiting,  to  get  the  right  kind  of 
fertilizing  material  into  the  soil,  where  it  is  most  needed,  the 


heavier  applications  should  be  made  at  least  during  the  first 
five  or  six  years  of  the  growth  of  the  orchard,  when  it  is  possible 
tosuccessfully  work  the  fertilizers  into  the  soil.  This  may  not 
all  be  needed  then,  but  will  ensure  sufficient  amounts  of  the 
mineral  elements  to  supply  all  the  needs  of  the  crop  for  many 
years.  Hence,  even  on  good  soils  care  should  be  taken  to 
abundantly  supply  the  soil  with  the  mineral  food,  and  its  ap¬ 
plication  should  be  such  as  to  enable  it  to  become  thoroughly 
incorporated  with  the  surface  layer  of  soil.  Whether  the 
orchard  shall  be  cultivated  after  it  has  reached  its  fruiting 
stage  or  not  depends,  in  my  judgment,  very  largely  upon 
whether  there  is  a  sufficient  abundance  of  mineral  food  in  that 
soil  for  all  the  needs  of  the  trees  after  they  have  arrived  at  the 
bearing  stage.  Cultivation  of  good  soil  does  make  plant-food 
available,  if  it  originally  exists  in  the  soil.  Cultivation  after¬ 
ward,  upon  soils  well  supplied  with  the  minerals,  is  not  so  im¬ 
portant  from  the  standpoint  of  supplying  available  food,  as  it 
is  from  the  standpoint  of  holding  in  the  soil  the  water  that  en¬ 
ables  the  root  to  perform  its  function  in  acquiring  its  food. 
Hence,  the  question  of  whether  the  soil  shall  be  mulcted,  or 
whether  it  shall  be  left  in  sod,  hinges  practically  upon  the  ques¬ 
tion  of  the  original  food  in  the  soil,  and  the  treatment  given  it 
to  prevent  the  escape  of  moisture. 

The  important  question  next,  then,  is  since  this  basic  for¬ 
mula  is  to  supply  the  minerals  only,  phosphoric  acid  and 
potash,  together  with  an  occasional  application  of  lime,  whe¬ 
ther  there  should  be  some  nitrogen  applied,  particularly  for 
apples  and  pears.  For  these  crops,  I  believe  that  the  mixture 
would  contain  a  sufficient  proportion  of  nitrogen  upon  good 
.soils,  well  supplied  with  humus.  On  light  soils,  the  neces¬ 
sity  that  the  fertilizers  shall  contain  a  liberal  supply  of  nitro¬ 
gen  is  greater,  and  is  frequently  very  apparent,  in  which  case 
it  may  be  applied  in  organic  forms  when  the  land  is  culti¬ 
vated,  and  preferably  from  those  materials  which  do  not  decay 
too  rapidly  because  this  will  furnish  the  nitrogen  quite  as  rap¬ 
idly  as  it  is  needed  by  the  tree.  In  many  cases,  too,  it  is  possi¬ 
ble  to  obtain  the  necessary  nitrogen  from  the  growing  of 
leguminous  crops,  as  crimson  clover,  cow  peas,  soy  beans, 
vetches,  etc.,  though  when  these  are  used  great  care  should 
be  exercised  in  their  handling,  in  order  that  their  growth 
may  not  interfere  with  the  growth  of  the  tree. 

Always  keep  in  mind  that  any  crop  grown  in  the  orchard 
after  the  first  year  or  two  is  grown  not  for  the  crop  itself,  but 


because  it  contributes  to  the  growth  of  the  tree  and  the  ulti¬ 
mate  accomplishment  of  the  purpose — fruit.  If  cover  crops 
are  allowed  to  remain  in  the  orchard  until  they  mature,  they 
not  only  absorb  food  that  may  be  necessary  for  the  growth  of 
the  tree  and  fruit,  ut  the  moisture  also,  and  thus  frequently 
injure  rather  than  improve  the  crop  prospects.  However,  the 
application  of  the  basic  fertilizer  should  continue  in  the 
orchard,  and  how  much  of  the  special  formulas  should  be  used 
later  must  be  determined  by  the  grower  himself.  The  food 
applied  must  be  in  their  more  soluble  forms,  as,  for  example, 
nitrates,  superphosphates  and  soluble  potash  salts,  ar.d  they 
should  be  applied  in  not  too  large  quantities,  and  preferably 
especially  the  nitrate,  early  in  spring,  in  order  that  they  may 
be  utilized  early,  and  thus  not  contribute  to  late  growth,  which 
interferes  with  the  maturity  of  fruit. 

No  definite  rules  can  be  laid  down  as  to  amounts  to  be 
applied,  and  no  suggestion  ether  than  the  above,  namely,  that 
the  moment  a  tree  is  hungry  that  moment  loud  should  be  sup¬ 
plied  ;  and  the  evidences  of  hunger  are  so  apparent  in  nearly 
all  orchards  that  I  believe  that  four  times  as  much  fertilizer  as 
is  now  used  could  be  applied  with  verv  great  profit.  For  we 
must  remember  that  not  only  is  the  fertilizer  necessary,  in 
order  to  feed  the  plant,  but  that  when  we  supply  these  needs 
we  contribute  to  the  power  of  that  tree  to  resist  insect  and 
fungous  attacks,  to  outgrow  slight  injuries,  which  would  re¬ 
sult  in  the  absence  of  full  nourishment  in  very  materially  in¬ 
juring  the  fruit  prospects. 

I  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  saying  that  a  liberal 
fertilization  of  an  orchard  will  prevent  disease,  parasites  and 
injuries  of  that  nature,  but  that  their  effect  is  not  so  apparent 
as  when  abundant  food  is  supplied.  Old  orchards  that  have 
been  partially  neglected,  fertilized  with  the  basic  formula, 
with  judicious  trimming  and  cultivation  may  bring  back,  in 
large  part,  at  least,  the  vigor  and  health  of  the  tree.  The 
trouble  in  most  of  these  cases  has  been  that  the  growers  are 
either  indifferent  or  ignorant.  Their  trees  have  not  been  fed 
and  therefore  have  been  unable  to  resist  insect  and  disease  at 
tacks,  changes  in  weather,  or  untoward  conditions,  and  thus 
have  not  the  power  to  assimilate  and  use  the  plant-lood  that 
would  be  possible  where  best  conditions  prevail. 

The  suggestions  thus  far  have  their  application  more  par¬ 
ticularly  to  apples  and  pears,  fruits  that  bear  for  a  long  time. 
In  the  case  of  peaches,  upon  good  soils,  the  necessity  lor  fer- 


tilization  is  seldom  apparent  until  after  the  first  or  second  year 
of  growth.  On  medium  and  poor  soils,  the  setting  of  the  trees 
should  be  preceded  by  the  application  of  the  basic  fertilizer 
referred  to  at  the  rate  of  600  to  8oo  lbs.  per  acre,  and  should 
be  followed  by  the  application  of  the  more  soluble  fertilizers 
immediately  the  trees  begin  to  bear.  The  need  of  nitrogen  .is 
often  very  marked,  and  is  shown  by  the  lack  of  vigor  of  tree, 
and  soluble  nitrates  have  proved  very  valuable  as  a  source  of 
this  element,  since  from  these  the  nitrogen  may  be  appropri¬ 
ated  by  the  roots  during  the  early  season,  and  which,  if  a  suf¬ 
ficient  abundan:e  of  the  minerals  is  present,  enables  a  normal 
development  of  fruit.  This  fertilizer  should  be  applied  early 
in  the  season,  in  order  that  the  food  may  be  appropriated  early, 
and  thus  prevent  an  undue  development  of  leaf  and  branch, 
and  thus  not  permitting  the  ripening  of  the  wood  before  the 
beginning  of  the  winter.  Thus,  on  poor  soils,  100  to  150  lbs. 
nitrate  of  soda,  200  of  acid  phosphate,  and  100  of  muriate  of 
of  potash  per  acre  should  be  applied  early  in  the  season,  and 
carefully  worked  into  the  soil,  in  addition  to  the  amount  of 
the  basic  formula  referred  to.  In  all  cases  the  land  should  be 
cultivated,  which  will  thoroughly  distribute  the  fertilizers  in 
the  soil. 

These  suggestions  apply,  also,  in  the  case  of  plums  and 
cherries,  though  for  the  latter  more  frequent  liming  is  de¬ 
sirable. 

For  small  fruits  in  general  the  same  considerations  as  to 
the  needs  for  liberal  fertilization  apply,  yet  because  of  their 
different  character  of  growth,  the  method  of  fertilization  should 
be  somewhat  different.  They  require  a  shorter  preparatory 
season,  and  have  a  shorter  period  of  bearing  life.  In  respect 
to  their  general  character  they  correspond  more  nearly  with 
the  vegetable  crops  than  with  the  cereal  grains,  in  that  they 
possess  a  relatively  higher  market  value  and  a  lower  fertility 
value  than  these,  and  the  period  of  growth  and  development 
of  the  fruit  is  much  shorter.  For  these  reasons,  natural  sources 
of  plant-food  may  be  largely  ignored  in  their  growth,  and  the 
more  quickly  available  (particularly  nitrogenous  and  phos- 
phatic)  materials  supplied. 

In  the  case  of  the  strawberry,  the  preparatory  period  of 
growth  of  the  plant  before  bearing  is  but  one  year,  and  the 
crop  that  may  be  obtained  is  largely  dependent  upon  the 
strength  and  vigor  of  plant  which  has  been  acquired  during 
this  period.  Hence  it  is  desirable  that  the  soil  in  which  the 


plants  are  set  should  be  abundantly  provided  with  the  mineral 
elements,  particularly  with  soluble  and  available  phosphoric 
acid.  Hence  an  application  of  the  basic  formula  should  be 
made  previous  to  setting  the  plants  and  well  worked  into  the 
soil  The  applications  afterward  should  contain  quickly 
available  plant-food,  especially  of  nitrogen,  and  should  be  ap¬ 
plied  early  in  the  season,  say  a  mixture  of  ioo  to  150  lbs.  of 
nitrate  of  soda,  200  to  300  lbs.  acid  phosphate  and  100  to  150 
lbs  sulphate  of  potash.  These  same  general  considerations 
apply  to  the  other  berries  usually  grown. 

In  all  of  these  suggestions  as  to  artificial  fertilization  it 
must  be  understood  that  soils  should  be  supplied  as  abund¬ 
antly  as  is  possible  with  decaying  vegetable  matter,  because 
this  humus-forming  material  contributes  both  to  the  improve¬ 
ment  of  the  physical  character  of  soil  and  the  requirements  for 
food,  as  well  as  to  the  conservation  and  better  distribution  of 
water,  the  one  thing  more  than  any  other  which  controls  size 
and  quality  of  crop.  Whether  this  shall  be  accomplished  by 
the  infrequent  use  of  yard  manure,  or  the  judicious  cropping 
with  leguminous  plants,  is  largely  a  matter  of  conditions.  In 
the  first  case,  it  must  be  remembered  that  large  applications 
of  organic  materials  to  orchards  may  result  in  an  uneven  de¬ 
velopment  of  tree  and  fruit.  Whereas,  if  cover-cropping  is 
practiced,  and  legumes  and  other  plants  grown  to  supply  the 
vegetable  matter,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  use  of  these 
crops  is  for  the  purpose  of  feeding  the  tree,  and  not  for  the 
crops  themselves,  and  therefore  they  should  be  used  with  the 
greatest  care.  Much  injury  may  be  done  by  the  use  of  cover 
crops,  if  they  are  not  either  cultivated  into  the  soil  or  plowed 
down  at  just  the  right  time,  and  it  is  my  observation,  especi¬ 
ally  in  peach  orchards,  that  it  is  better  that  crimson  clover, 
especially,  be  cultivated  into  the  soil  in  Spring  as  early  as  it 
would  otherwise  be  cultivated,  the  benefits  being  derived  from 
the  covering  of  the  crops  during  the  winter,  and  such  organic 
matter  as  has  been  gathered  up  to  the  time  the  land  is  culti¬ 
vated.  I  mention  these  only  insofar  as  they  have  a  bearing 
upon  the  question  of  fertilizers,  and  do  not  give  any  specific 
directions  for  their  use.  As  I  stated  in  the  beginning,  the 
sum  and  substance  of  fertilizing  orchards  is  very  largely  a 
question  of  supplying  an  abundance  of  the  minerals,  phos¬ 
phoric  acid  and  potash,  and  in  providing  for  a  sufficiency  of 
water. 


The  President — The  doctor  knows  what  he  is  talking 
about,  but  the  last  lecture  I  heard  him  give  cost  me  seven  or 
eight  hundred  dollars.  It  changed  my  theories  on  some 
things  entirely,  but  he  convinced  me  he  was  right. 

Mr.  Collins — I  want  to  ask  the  doctor  a  question  :  I 
think  the  doctor  mentioned  ground  bone  as  one  of  the  con¬ 
stituents  ? 

Dr.  Voorhees — Yes. 

Mr.  Collins — Why  do  you  recommend  bone  instead  of 
ground  phosphate  rock  ;  is  it  better  ? 

Dr.  Voorhees — Not  necessarily ;  in  some  you  may  find 
that  you  will  get  your  phosphate  quickly,  but  in  the  long  run 
bone  is  more  active  and  is  preferable.  If  you  put  on  ground 
phosphate,  and  put  a  large  quantity  on,  and  have  abundance 
of  organic  matter  in  the  soil,  it  will  probably  give  you  good 
returns.  It  is  a  question  of  conditions.  If  you  can  buy 
ground  phosphate  at  a  low  enough  price  to  enable  you  to  get 
some  return  immediately,  or  where  you  had  used  leguminous 
crops  or  manure,  you  can  put  on  your  ground  phosphate, 
provided  you  get  it  cheaper,  but  you  can’t  get  it  cheap  enough 
as  a  rule. 

Mr.  Collins — Another  thing :  I  know  one  of  the  best 
fruit  growers  in  New  Jersey  cares  nothing  about  the  humus 
in  his  orchard. 

Dr.  Voorhees — I  don’t  care  anything  about  it  either,  as 
long  as  I  can  get  the  moisture. 

Mr.  Collins — The  ground  is  dry. 

Dr.  Voorhees — The  plants  get  the  moisture  ;  there  must 
be  some  source  within  reach  of  the  trees,  as  water  is  one  of 
the  first  essentials. 

Mr.  Collins — From  the  quality  of  the  fruit  he  raises  it 
don’t  look  as  if  he  got  any.  I  can’t  reconcile  it. 

Mr.  Beebe — In  cultivating  an  orchard  the  root  growth 
is  partially  destroyed  ;  are  the  benefits  derived  sufficient  to 
balance  this  injury. 

Dr.  Voorhees — That  depends  upon  the  kind  of  tree  and 
the  kind  of  soil,  and  the  method  of  fertilization.  If  you  put 
the  fertilizer  on  top,  and  you  haven’t  any  food  below  the  sur¬ 
face,  that  plant  will  go  up  there  and  get  it. 

Mr.  Beebe — How  are  you  going  to  get  it  in  below  ? 

Dr.  Voorhees — Plow  it  in  ;  if  you  are  going  to  grow  an 
orchard  on  poor  soil,  plow  it  in. 


Mr.  Beebe— Before  the  orchard  is  set  you  can  do  that,  but 
after  thirty  years  ? 

Dr.  Voorhees — You  have  got  to  do  it  early  and  get  it  in 

then. 

Mr.  Beebe — I  am  thinking  more  of  the  old  orchard. 

Dr.  Voorhees — That  is  the  real  reason  why  I  recommend 
a  large  application,  because  in  your  old  orchard  you  cannot 
get  it  into  the  soil  so  readily,  unless  you  do  cultivate.  You 
can  put  your  nitrate  or  phosphate  on,  but  unless  your  soil  is  of 
such  a  character  as  to  enable  it  to  get  down  in,  it  is  all  on  the 
surface  and  not  where  the  roots  are  ordinarily  located. 

Mr.  Beebe — The  point  I  make  is,  that  if  you  put  it  in  you 
might  kill  so  many  roots,  and  I  wonder  whether  it  is  worth 
while. 

Dr.  Voorhees — Then  I  would  not  do  it  if  that  is  your 
opinion. 

Mr.  Beebe — On  my  father’s  farm  he  plowed  his  orchard 
and  had  to  go  and  buy  his  apples  from  a  man  who  didn’t  plow. 

Dr.  Voorhees — This  whole  question  of  fertilizing  success¬ 
fully  is  largely  dependent  upon  the  subsequent  cultivation. 

A  Member — Will  soluble  potash  leak  out  of  the  soil. 

Dr.  Voorhees — No  ;  but  you  apply  potash  on  the  surface 
of  soil  which  contains  a  good  deal  of  fine  silt  or  clay,  and  it  is 
fixed  right  there.  When  you  apply  a  large  quantity  on  soil 
like  that  you  ought  to  harrow  it. 

A  Member — Insoluble  potash  would  be  the  same  way. 

Dr,  Voorhees — Yes,  it  would  stay  just  where  you  put  it. 
But  the  potash  salt  is  soluble,  and  on  some  soils  it  will  dis¬ 
tribute  ilself  much  better  than  on  soils  that  have  an  abund¬ 
ance  of  fine  particles  of  clay.  Then  the  tendency  is  to  dis¬ 
tribute  only  enough  to  fix  that,  and  then  stay  there.  It  is  a 
good  deal  like  soluble  phosphate,  that  will  reach  out  in  sandy 
soil,  but  these  unfavorable  conditions  are  very  seldom  met  with. 

Mr.  Repp — Is  it  profitable  to  put  lime  in  an  orchard  ? 

Dr.  Voorhees — Yes,  for  some  kind  of  soil,  because  plants 
require  it.  I  have  seen  orchards  which  suffered  from  lack  of 
lime.  The  vigor  of  the  trees  was  of  such  a  character  to  in¬ 
dicate  that. 

A  Member — What  kind  of  lime  do  you  recommend  ? 

Dr.  Voorhees — Carbonate  of  lime. 

A  Member — How  about  gas  lime  ? 

Dr.  Voorhees — That  would  be  all  right. 

A  Member-How  much  per  acre  would  you  put  of  gas  lime? 


Dr.  Voorliees — I  should  put  about  20  to  25  bushels  of 
good  lime  and  about  40  bushels  gas  lime,  although  for  some 
plants  direct  application  of  gas  lime  would  have  a  tendency 
to  injure  the  young  plants. 

A  Member — How  often  would  you  apply  it  ? 

Dr.  Voorliees — Once  in  five  or  six  years. 

Albert  Repp — I  know  atnan  that  has  not  had  lime  on  his 
farm  for  years.  He  covered  his  whole  farm  with  gas  lime 
last  year  ;  this  year  he  got  about  80  loads  of  hay  where  he  had 
never  gotten  but  very  little  before. 

Dr.  Voorhees — Gas  lime  does  not  possess  any  quality  that 
will  help  the  plants  in  a  greater  degree  than  ordinary  lime. 

Mr.  Fullerton — I  didn’t  quite  get  your  basis  of  proportion 
of  fertilizer  mixture. 

Dr.  Voorhees — About  one-third  of  each. 

A  Member — Provided  you  have  organic  matter,  what  ratio 
would  you  think  would  warrant  you  in  buying  floats. 

Dr.  Voorhees — We  find  that  ground  bone  averages  from 
one-third  to  one-half  available  the  first  year,  and  the  balance 
would  take  possibly  four  to  five  years,  depending  on  soil  and 
crop  conditions.  Now  in  the  ground  floats  the  proportion  you 
get  would  be  very  much  less  the  first  year.  The  whole  ques¬ 
tion  would  have  to  be  worked  out  in  the  first  place  as  to  the 
availability  of  it  under  average  conditions.  I  should  think  I 
would  want  to  buy  my  float  at  about  one-third  the  cost  of 
phosphoric  acid  that  I  buy  it  in  the  animal  bone  phosphate, 
and  if  I  didn’t  have  any  organic  matter  I  should  not  consider 
it  at  that  price. 

Mr.  Fort — I  had  a  neighbor  who  was  using  gas  lime  on 
liis  farm,  and  he  wanted  to  make  his  grass  grow,  and  he  went 
in  with  the  gas  lime  and  gave  it  a  liberal  coat  of  lime.  The 
fact  was  that  the  gas  in  this  lime  stripped  the  leaves  off  of  his 
trees  so  that  the  blackbirds  had  no  cover.  The  trees  were 
stripped  of  foliage  until  that  gas  passed  off,  and  then  nature 
covered  them  again. 

Dr.  Voorhees — I  don’t  think  it  would  take  the  leaves  off 
an  apple  tree,  but  it  is  always  better  to  have  your  gas  lime  ex¬ 
posed  for  a  year  or  so  before  using  it.  The  fresh  gas  lime 
does  contain  a  volatile  substance  which  has  been  found  to  be 
injurious.  You  will  find  it  injurious  when  you  apply  it  to 
young  growing  crops. 

Mr.  Fort — I  put  fresh  gas  lime  on  some  field  and  planted 
corn  and  it  didn’t  come  up. 


Dr.  Voorhees — You  would  not  have  had  that  trouble  had 
you  exposed  it  to  the  air  for  a  year.  The  only  trouble  so  far 
as  the  action  of  the  lime  is  concerned,  it  is  not  in  as  fine  a 
condition.  It  has  gone  back  to  the  carbonate  form  in  part. 
It  has  been  changed.  It  has  been  wet  and  it  is  not  so  caustic. 
There  is  a  whole  lot  to  this  lime  question  and  a  whole  lot 
that  we  don’t  know,  but  there  is  a  whole  lot  we  do  know 
and  which  would  help  us  a  great  deal  in  planting  our 
orchards.  I  believe  that  lots  of  orchards  are  suffering  for 
lack  of  lime. 

Mr.  Repp — Your  opinion  is  to  use  caustic  lime  on  new 
ground  and  carbonate  of  lime  for  old  ground  ? 

Dr.  Voorhees — Yes,  that  would  answer. 


